Sarah Palin Denounces 'Tactics of the Left' by GOP Establishment

See Palin's comments on Facebook, "Cannibals in GOP Establishment Employ Tactics of the Left" (via Memeorandum):

We have witnessed something very disturbing this week. The Republican establishment which fought Ronald Reagan in the 1970s and which continues to fight the grassroots Tea Party movement today has adopted the tactics of the left in using the media and the politics of personal destruction to attack an opponent.

We will look back on this week and realize that something changed. I have given numerous interviews wherein I espoused the benefits of thorough vetting during aggressive contested primary elections, but this week’s tactics aren’t what I meant. Those who claim allegiance to Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment should stop and think about where we are today. Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, the fathers of the modern conservative movement, would be ashamed of us in this primary. Let me make clear that I have no problem with the routine rough and tumble of a heated campaign. As I said at the first Tea Party convention two years ago, I am in favor of contested primaries and healthy, pointed debate. They help focus candidates and the electorate. I have fought in tough and heated contested primaries myself. But what we have seen in Florida this week is beyond the pale. It was unprecedented in GOP primaries. I’ve seen it before – heck, I lived it before – but not in a GOP primary race.

I am sadly too familiar with these tactics because they were used against the GOP ticket in 2008. The left seeks to single someone out and destroy his or her record and reputation and family using the media as a channel to dump handpicked and half-baked campaign opposition research on the public. The difference in 2008 was that I was largely unknown to the American public, so they had no way of differentiating between the lies and the truth. All of it came at them at once as “facts” about me. But Newt Gingrich is known to us – both the good and the bad.

More at the link.

And from George Moneo, at Babalú:

I don't have a dog in this hunt: none of these candidates is my ideal of a conservative Republican in the Reagan mode. That said, however, the sniping, conniving, backstabbing, innuendos and calumnies (from all parties) are beginning to wear thin and piss me off. This is not the campaign I envisioned that was needed to end the Democrats' hopes of reelecting Jimmy Carter II.

Yeah, I'll be glad when the primaries are over, big time.

BONUS: From Dan Riehl:

I believe it was Dan Gainor who pointed out via Twitter last night, in essence, the establishment may end up getting Romney through but they are quite possibly costing themselves the election to do it. Mitt Romney IS a progressive Republican who will say anything to get the nomination. The GOP sycophants that call themselves conservative in our Beltway media can shill and hide massive weaknesses for Romney all they want. Come a general election, they will be irrelevant and an Obama-friendly media will be calling the shots. Given the bias of so many GOP pundits in the primary, they will have no right to complain about it, as if it would even matter.

Newt Gingrich Comments On Palestinians as 'Invented People'

This was something that impressed me about Gingrich previously, and it was a high point of the Jacksonville debate:

PREVIOUSLY: "Newt Gingrich Attacked By Weasels."

Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll: Gingrich Leading as Fight Intensifies

FOX Chicago News has the report, "Ex-Speaker Fares Worse vs. Obama":

Newt Gingrich is outpacing Mitt Romney by a comfortable margin among Republican voters nationwide, but also is showing evidence of the vulnerabilities that could hurt the former House speaker in a general election, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

With the two rivals fighting it out in Florida after Gingrich's big South Carolina victory last week, the poll found Republicans nationwide favoring Gingrich 37 percent to 28 percent over Romney. GOP voters gave the former House speaker high marks for knowledge and experience, while they continued to harbor doubts about Romney's positions on the issues and his feel for average Americans.

But the survey also finds that many Americans overall, notably political independents, hold negative feelings about Gingrich, and that Romney fares considerably better in a hypothetical matchup against President Barack Obama.

The poll captures on a larger stage much of the drama playing out now in Florida, where Romney is scrambling to stop Gingrich's resurgence by jabbing at his weaknesses. After trailing at the start of the week, Romney has moved to even or just ahead in more recent polls. Florida holds its primary next Tuesday.

The poll also puts a spotlight on the bigger issue of electability, registering a distinct uptick in positive sentiment both toward the economy and President Barack Obama. Greater confidence in the economy would strengthen Obama's position leading up to the November election.

Obama's approval rating nudged up to 48 percent, while 46 percent disapprove of the job he is doing, the first time the reading has moved into positive territory for the president since June. Obama was losing to a generic Republican candidate last month, but the new survey finds him beating an unnamed Republican 47 percent to 42 percent, his best margin in seven months.

Specifically, Obama tops both of the leading GOP candidates, but is far stronger against Gingrich. When Americans were asked how they would vote today, the president surpasses Romney by a 49 percent to 43 percent margin. Against Gingrich, his margin swells to 55 percent to 37 percent.

Well, it's still early. I've been extremely impressed with Gingrich in the debates, and while some suggest that Gingrich bombed in last night's debate, there's no doubt that Newt would decimate Barack Obama in a series of debates in the fall --- and he'd be much more aggressive against Obama, shamelessly aggressive, than Romney would be. That said, these primaries are heating up pretty good and I'm pleased that issues are being raised as pointedly as they are at this point. The eventual nominee will be that much stronger.

More at Astute Bloggers, "NEWTNUTZ STILL DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE."

Mark Levin Slams Newt Gingrich Attackers!

My goodness.

This is a vociferous rant, via Legal Insurrection, "“If this is what the conservative movement has become, then count me out”":

Mitt Romney's 'Blood Money'

The new web ad from Winning Our Future, via Linkiest:

Also at Washington Post, "Pro-Gingrich group hits Romney on his venture firm’s ties to company fined for Medicare fraud."

Republican Candidates Trade Barbs Over Immigration

The New York Times has the background, "Gingrich Ad Faulting Romney on Immigration Stirs Furor." (There's an audio clip at the link.)

And Michelle responds, "Gingrich channels open-borders SEIU; Rubio rebukes; Update: Newt retreats."

And now at The Hill, "Gingrich slams Romney immigration reform plan as 'Obama-level fantasy'":

The former House Speaker derided Mitt Romney's idea of "self-deportation" — articulated in Monday's GOP debate — as a "fantasy" while defending his own immigration plan, which would legalize the status of illegal immigrants with significant roots in the community and who had avoided arrest.

"I think you have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic, you know, $20 million a year income with no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," Gingrich said. "Remember that I talked very specifically about people who have been here a long time, who are grandmothers and grandfathers, who have been paying their bills, they have been working, they are part of the community. Now, for Romney to believe that somebody's grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self-deport, I mean this verges — this is an Obama-level fantasy."

He also defended an ad that referred to Romney as "anti-immigrant" even after his campaign pulled the spot, which was denounced by popular Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in an interview with the Miami Herald.

"Well, he certainly shows no concern for the humanity of people who are already here. I mean I just think the idea we're going to deport grandmothers and grandfathers is a sufficient level of inhumanity," Gingrich said.

More at the link.

And also at Los Angeles Times, "Romney and Gingrich battle for Florida's Latino vote."

Nancy Pelosi Threatens New Revelations Against Newt Gingrich

Actually, her comments are pretty vague, but considering she was out in December with alleged dirt on Speaker Gingrich from his House ethics investigation, it sure seems like a threat.

At The Blaze, "PELOSI: GINGRICH WILL ‘NEVER’ BE PRESIDENT, ‘THERE IS SOMETHING I KNOW’."

And at London's Daily Mail, "'Newt will never become President, there is something I know': Nancy Pelosi issues cryptic threat about Gingrich."

And see the commentary at Legal Insurrection, "Nancy Pelosi’s evil mind games."

Winning the Future Slams Romney in Huge New Florida Ad Buy

At the Miami Herald, "Pro-Gingrich SuperPac announces $6m FL ad buy tying Mitt Romney to ObamaCare." Also at Washington Post, "Super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich makes $6 million ad buy in Florida."

Occupy's Inequality Push Misses Real Problem: Per Capita Income Has Fallen Over Five Years

At Investor's Business Daily, "Inequality? Real Issue Is Falling Real Income For All":

As long as a rising economic tide kept incomes afloat, concerns about inequality rarely surfaced for long.

Only after four years in which income disparities actually narrowed a bit — typical of recessions — did last year's emergence of Occupy Wall Street make inequality a big political issue.

But, as the movement's "We are the 99%" slogan comprising almost everyone suggests, what really has people upset is the fact that everyone's slice of the pie, on average, has gotten a bit smaller.

The nation has now gone through a five-year stretch in which real per capita disposable income has shrunk, the first time that's happened since the demobilization after World War II.

Disposable per capita income equaled $37,000 at the end of November vs. an inflation-adjusted $37,060 in September 2006, Commerce Department data show.

The long drought largely reflects 2008-09 income declines, but real per capita disposable income also fell 0.9% in the 12 months through November.

Official data show that the U.S. economy finally recouped recessionary losses in the third quarter of 2011, eclipsing the prior GDP peak at the end of 2007. But those statistics, while marking a postwar record for futility, still paint too bright of a picture.

Continue reading.

Actually, there could be something here politically for either party. But given that Barack Hussein's going to run a class-warfare campaign, the GOP nominee will do right by boning up on these statistics.

Romney Unleashes Attack on Gingrich at Tampa GOP Debate

At New York Times, "Romney Unleashes Attack With Gingrich Sole Target":

TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney leveled a searing attack against Newt Gingrich’s character and raised pointed questions about his ability to lead during a debate here Monday evening, taking urgent steps to slow Mr. Gingrich’s rising momentum in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination.

For the first time, Mr. Gingrich strode onto the stage as an indisputable equal to Mr. Romney after dislodging him from his confident perch as the front-runner in the race with his commanding victory on Saturday in South Carolina. Mr. Romney dug into his rival’s tenure as House speaker and the ensuing years, when he advised companies like the mortgage giant Freddie Mac, a period for which Mr. Romney branded him as “an influence peddler in Washington.”

“You are looking for a person who can lead this country at a very critical time,” Mr. Romney said. “The speaker was given the opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994, and after four years he resigned in disgrace.”

Mr. Gingrich painted Mr. Romney’s attacks as desperate and riddled with inaccuracies. He embraced his confrontational style and defended himself forcefully, but his responses came without the bombast that has delighted crowds throughout the race.

“They’re not sending somebody to Washington to manage the decay,” Mr. Gingrich said. “They’re sending somebody to Washington to change it, and that requires somebody who’s prepared to be controversial when necessary.”

The new landscape of the Republican campaign came into sharp view, with Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich often seeming as though they had traded personalities for the evening. It was clear from the outset that the tables had turned, as Mr. Romney repeatedly tried to provoke Mr. Gingrich, who has built up a reputation as a formidable debater.

“I’m not going to spend the evening trying to chase Governor Romney’s misinformation,” Mr. Gingrich said, telegraphing his plan to try to take the high road. “I think the American public deserves a discussion about how to beat Barack Obama.”

Yet on the eve of President Obama’s State of the Union address, the debate was notable for the lack of time devoted to Mr. Obama. It was the first sign of the consequences of a drawn-out Republican nominating contest, with Mr. Obama taking a back seat to terse re-examinations of the candidates’ records.

Continue reading.

And see Washington Post, "Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich clash sharply in Republican presidential debate." And USA Today, "Florida debate marks pivotal moment in the Republican race."

William Jacobson has comments, "Republican Debate – Tampa, FL."

American Exceptionalism

Just imagine if Newt Gingrich won the nomination and defeated Barack Obama in the fall. We'd have as the new first lady Callista Gingrich, who is so unabashedly patriotic as to put Michelle 'For the First Time I'm Proud of My Country' Obama in the shade a thousand times over.

Ann Coulter Defends Mitt Romney After South Carolina Drubbing

We're in for a nasty period of internecine warfare over the next couple of month, by the looks of reactions to the South Carolina results. Here's Ann Coulter pissing off a good many folks in the Palmetto State, particularly the tea party activists and evangelicals who propelled Gingrich to victory.

[VIDEO PULLED]

See also William Jacobson, "Fearmongers for Romney," and Dan Riehl, "Jennifer Rubin Loses It, Pens Open Letter."

And it's on both sides. Gerard Van der Leun puts things into perspective, "RDS: The ALLCAPS NEWTERS Signal the Outbreak of Severe Romney Derangement Syndrome."

Romney Opens Aggressive New Phase of Campaign

At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney tells 'interrupters' at rally to 'take a hike'":

Reporting from Ormond Beach, Fla.—

Mitt Romney opened an aggressive new phase of the Republican presidential campaign as he cruised into Florida on Sunday night — casting Newt Gingrich as an unethical politician whose temperament and unreliability led to his ouster as speaker of the House in the 1990s.

After a week in which he conceded his Iowa win to Rick Santorum after a recount and lost to Gingrich by double digits in South Carolina, Romney acknowledged that the Republican contest had become a three-man race. But he took a much tougher tone toward Gingrich – directly raising the ethics investigation that Gingrich faced in the 1990s and demanding that Gingrich provide an accounting for the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“We’re not choosing a talk show host," Romney said, alluding to his rival’s strong debate performances that helped shift momentum in his favor in South Carolina. "We’re choosing the person who should be leader of the free world.”

He went on to list what he described as the qualities of a leader: integrity, sobriety, judgment, thoughtfulness, reliability and high ethical standards. “You’re going to have to look at that as Floridians and decide which of the people running for president on our side of the aisle includes the qualities of leadership.”

After touting his own experience in the private sector, turning around the 2002 Olympic Games and governing the state of Massachusetts, Romney pivoted to Gingrich.

"At the end of four years as speaker of the House, it was proven that he was a failed leader,” Romney said. “He had to resign in disgrace. I don’t know whether you knew that.… His fellow Republicans – 88% of his Republicans – voted to reprimand Speaker Gingrich. He has not had a record of successful leadership.”

More at Astute Bloggers, "MITT FIGHTS BACK!"

'An Utter Repudiation of Romney'

Again, with the massive outpouring of analysis, combined with the conference championships today, I didn't even attempt to wade through all the perspectives. Memeorandum still has the South Carolina news at the top of the page. An especially devastating take is from Sean Trende at RealClearPolitics, "Three Takeaways From South Carolina":

This vote was an utter repudiation of Romney, and it absolutely will be repeated in state after state if something doesn’t change the basic dynamic of the race. It is true that Gingrich doesn’t have funds or organization, but he gets a ton of free media from the debates, and he has an electorate that simply wants someone other than Romney.

That’s not to say that Romney’s money and organization don’t give him advantages -- they do. He remains the GOP front-runner, in my view, because it isn’t clear how well Gingrich can survive the long haul. But there’s a not-insubstantial chance, call it 35 percent, that Romney won’t be the nominee.

RTWT.

And here's George Will on "This Week":

Plus, John Hawkins has an excellent analysis, "Newt Vs. Mitt After South Carolina: What The Inside The Beltway Crowd Misses."

South Carolina Raises Fresh Doubts About Republican Contest

Well, the doubts should be about the ease with which Romney held onto his frontrunner status for so long. The media is especially to blame, but I think Romney's rivals played softball way too long, afraid that they'd be crossed off the list of possible appointments in a Romney administration. Tim Pawlenty must be kicking himself every night for dropping out of the race so damned early.

At New York Times, "Fresh Doubts About Republican Contest":

CHARLESTON, S.C. — For Mitt Romney, the South Carolina primary was not just a defeat, though it was most emphatically that. It was also where his campaign confronted the prospect it had most hoped to avoid: a dominant, surging and energized rival.

The rebirth of Newt Gingrich, a notion that seemed far-fetched only weeks ago, has upended a litany of assumptions about this turbulent race. It wounds Mr. Romney, particularly given his stinging double-digit defeat here on Saturday, and raises the likelihood that the Republican contest could stretch into the springtime.

For now the race goes on, with Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney joined by Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. But Mr. Gingrich’s showing here suggests that Mr. Romney may no longer be able to count on his rivals splitting the opposing vote into harmless parcels, or on the support he is getting from the party establishment to carry him past a volatile conservative grass-roots movement.

At a minimum, it is clear that Republican voters, after delivering three different winners in the first three stops in the nominating contest, are in no rush to settle on their nominee.

Mr. Romney, whose message has been built around the proposition that he can create jobs, lost badly among voters who said they were very worried about the economy, according to exit polls.

He had trouble with evangelicals and voters searching for a candidate who shared their faith. He did not win over people who support the Tea Party movement. And he struggled with questions about his wealth over the past week and could not match Mr. Gingrich in exciting the passions of conservatives.

His arguments of electability — the spine of his candidacy — fell flat to a wide portion of the party’s base here.

For all that, by most traditional measures, Mr. Romney retains a firm upper hand in the Republican race as it moves into a protracted battle to win 1,144 delegates.

Well, I don't know how "firm" that upper hand will be, considering the phenomenal bounce Gingrich will get coming out of South Carolina. But Romney's got the money and infrastructure, which I blogged about earlier. He needs to win Florida to recapture the momentum.

PREVIOUSLY: "Romney's National Campaign Operation Will Be Hard to Overcome."

Gingrich Scored Stunning Victory That Seemed Improbable Just Days Ago

At Los Angeles Times, "Gingrich surges to big win in South Carolina."

Newt Gingrich scores a primary victory that seemed improbable just days earlier, setting the stage for a contentious battle in the far-flung and multifaceted state of Florida.

Also, "Gingrich basks in comeback S.C. win, looks to Florida," and "To Gingrich supporters, a 'win for the conservative movement'."

Will a Long Race Help the Eventual Winner?

From Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary:

One of the pieces of conventional wisdom we’ve been hearing a lot of in the last few weeks is that a long, tough fight will be better for the eventual winner of the Republican presidential contest than one that is quickly decided. Since Newt Gingrich’s win in South Carolina tonight ensures that the nomination can’t be sewn up in short order, that theory is going to be tested in the coming weeks and months.

The proof for this thesis is supposedly the outcome of the 2008 Democratic primary battle in which an extended contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was seen as helping Obama in the long run.


Most observers believed Obama was toughened up the process in which he was forced to campaign all across the country. But there is a big difference between what happened to Obama and what Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich will undergo in the days ahead. Without the sympathetic if not adoring coverage that Obama got in the spring of 2008 from the mainstream press, the result of further GOP bloodletting will be two bleeding candidates no matter who turns out to be the winner.

It should be remembered that though Clinton criticized Obama for his shortcomings, most of the press did not choose to make much of the eventual Democratic nominee’s weaknesses. Even those stories that were reported extensively, such as his association with the radical Reverend Jeremiah Wright, were quickly put to rest after an Obama’s speech about race in which he skirted the basic issues.

Though we think of that race as being tough, both Obama and Clinton had to be careful not to be too tough since knocking around an African-American and a woman could be counter-productive.

But neither Republican will have these sorts of advantages. The mainstream media will, as they have in the last few weeks, eat up every negative story about either Romney or Gingrich and blow them out of proportion in a way that never happened to Obama or Clinton.

RTWT.

Well, since both Newt and Mitt have tons of baggage, I think a long campaign actually helps. The public doesn't care about the trash and dirt-digging gossip. Newt won South Carolina largely with his aggressive repudiation of the media's attack politics. I say let's air the issues and let the candidates hone their arguments. That's what'll help the eventual nominee. He'll be battled tested.

Sarah Palin: Newt Gingrich Now GOP Frontrunner

Actually, for the long haul, it's a two man race, but right now the momentum's definitely with Newt, so yeah, he's the frontrunner heading into Florida.

At Politico, "Sarah Palin: Newt Gingrich now GOP ‘front-runner’."

VIDEO: An Undecided Voter Makes His Choice in Charleston, South Carolina

It's quite pleasantly, if mildly, suspenseful.

From Bryan Preston, at PJ Media:

EARLIER: "Newt Gingrich Wins South Carolina GOP Primary."

Newt Gingrich South Carolina Victory Speech

It's a good speech, a gracious speech.

And lots of red meat in there for partisans. I like Newt's comments on the economy and balancing the budget. These are the most important issue facing the country. And he ripped into Barack Obama with a vengeance. This is what helped put Newt over the top. The exit polls indicate that Newt won over conservatives on the economy, his debate performances, and on his perceived strengths in the general election. Voters think Newt can beat Obama. See the Wall Street Journal, "Gingrich Won on Electability: Exit Polls":

In all three nominating contests so far, at least a plurality of voters have said the economy and electability were important factors. In Iowa and New Hampshire, such voters backed Mr. Romney. But in South Carolina, they backed Mr. Gingrich.

Indeed, South Carolinians placed an even higher priority on beating President Obama than did their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire. About one-third of voters in each of the other two early states told pollsters that the ability to defeat Mr. Obama was the most important candidate quality. In South Carolina, 45% said that was their highest priority, according to exit poll data released by CNN. Half of them voted for Mr. Gingrich, while fewer than four in 10 voted for Mr. Romney.

Similarly, a far larger proportion of South Carolina voters said the economy was the most important issue than did their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire. If South Carolinians had followed the pattern of voters in previous states on which candidate they favored on the economy, that would have meant a big win for Mr. Romney. But they didn't. Four in 10 of those voters backed Mr. Gingrich Saturday, while one-third backed Mr. Romney.

And check the raw exit poll data at CNN. Fifty-five percent said they decided on their vote either today or in the last few days, and Gingrich won 44 percent of each of those groups respectively. And Gingrich won with conservatives and tea party supporters. It was a decisive victory.

The question now is how well Gingrich sustains his momentum. South Carolina had a huge evangelical vote and that demographic won't be repeated in quite the same way moving forward. Florida especially will be very different from the Palmetto State. But Mitt Romney's campaign has been hit hard and the primaries could now drag on for months if Gingrich consolidates his progress and picks up additional victories in the weeks ahead. This is the way the primaries should be and I couldn't be happier. I don't love Gingrich but I've been dejected at the possibility of a Romney steamroller. The democratic process wouldn't have been fully exercised with a quick Romney win and that won't happen now. The eventual nominee will be a much better candidate with a prolonged campaign that airs both the tough questions and more dirty laundry.